


Finding Place

by inatshej



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Vernon Boyd & Erica Reyes, Allison Lives, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bakery and Coffee Shop, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Cultural References, Cute, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski are Soulmates, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Humor, Light Angst, Light-Hearted, M/M, Mutual Pining, One Shot, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Short & Sweet, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Sweet, Tags Are Fun, Werewolf Derek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-10
Updated: 2016-11-10
Packaged: 2018-08-30 05:54:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8520970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inatshej/pseuds/inatshej
Summary: Stiles wakes up to find himself in a strange room he doesn't recognize. Oh, right, he was supposed to spend the night at Scott's.He notices a man that's most definitely not Scott.'Uh', he says, sitting up, trying to comprehend what's going on.Aah, before going to Scott's apartment he stayed in a pub close by. He drunk some beer and was talking to people-'Did we have sex?'.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe I have actually written this. I was reading a book for my studies - the author was writing about communities, and how she sometimes leaves her keys at the nearby shop. Noone cares about insurance or formalities, and, yeah, it was enough for me to think up short Sterek.
> 
> Inspirations:  
> 1\. Obviously the actual book: "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" by Jane Jacobs. This book is a legend.  
> 2\. All soulmate fics. This whole fandom is so amazing.  
> 3\. "Hot Head" by Damon Suede, which I've read recently. Friends to Lovers trope is my favourite, plus this pining, Jesus.  
> 4\. "But, Doctor!" by stilinskisparkles. I love other works by this auther as well.
> 
> I'm still looking for beta. It may be hard, I admit, just in this fic I mistook bedhair for bedhead.

1\. Stiles – Private Space

Stiles wakes up to find himself in a strange room he doesn't recognize. Oh, right, he was supposed to spend the night at Scott's.

He notices a man that's most definitely not Scott.

'Uh', he says, sitting up, trying to comprehend what's going on.

 _Aah_ , before going to Scott's apartment he stayed in a pub close by. He drunk some beer and was talking to people-

'Did we have sex?'.

Because, hey, the dude's really handsome.

'No', the man grits out. He doesn't seem happy to look at Stiles. Only now Stiles realises he is fully clothed – probably just came in and that's how Stiles awakened.

Oh shit.

'Did I have sex with your boyfriend?'.

'No', this time it's with a growl.

'Huh. So, are you Scott's friend?'.

The guy frowns. 'Scott McCall? This student?'.

'Yeah, yeah, you know, lacrosse, socializing, talking about his girlfriend?'.

'He is my neighbour'.

Oh fuck.

'Then- ', Stiles stammers, 'this-'.

'It's my apartment'.

Well, the awkward mornings after. Without even the hooking up part.

'S- sorry', he stutters. 'I, uh, took the keys like Scott told me to from this guy at the pub, you know', shit, how was the pub called?, 'uh, The Monkey?'.

'The Jungle', the guy nodded and then made a face at him.

'What?', Stiles scoffed. 'You entertained yourself the whole night, I was out just for a while', he accused the judgmental look.

'I', the man starts, frowns at Stiles, 'visited my family and just came back'.

'Oh', Stiles blinks. 'That's – sweet', he decides.

The guy stares at him and starts blushing, then turns his head away, seemingly horrified by his reaction.

Stiles watched the reddened skin, enchanted (so adorable!), rubbing his soulmate imprint on the inside of his forearm. This thing was so damn stupid. Supposedly, it starts hurting when you're around your soulmate like it's on fire. Supposedly.

Stiles still remembers how it started aching when he first saw Jackson. Freaky – he can't stand the guy and vice versa. Because soulmate thing is magic, and magic doesn't make sense, is unpredictable and you can't believe it, not really.

Well, that's his opinion. It still works for most people, like Scott, who met Allison, his soulmate, in high school.

'So, Scott's in the next appartment?'.

The guy's eyes flicked up to his (and were those eyes nice. Really nice.) and turned away. Right, a night spent drinking doesn't make you pretty. 'He could be in the Blue Moon cafe'.

'Oh, okay'.

Stiles realizes, abruptly, that he is still in the guy's bed and stands up quickly, just to find out he has only boxers and his tee on.

He flushed.

'Uh, can I-'.

The guy turned away and nodded as Stiles found his pants and hurried to the bathroom. He seemed really angry if his eyebrows and clenched fists were anything to go by.

Stiles looked at his bedhair in a mirror, tried to do something about it, gave up. He went out with pants in place and refreshed a bit.

'So, uh, I'm Stiles, Scott's friend. I'm really sorry for mistaking the flats, I spend the last 4 months in Brasil, because I'm studying sociology of the cities and they are experimenting with their urban space now-', he stopped and continued even faster. 'Sorry, information excess. Anyways, I wanted to meet with Scott, but he had something important to do yesterday and told me to get his keys from the pub, so I guess they got them mixed up there. Still, the atmosphere in the Jungle was really great, so I thought I could stay for a while as well-'.

'It's fine', the guy said, scowling at him.

Stiles looked back, unsure which reaction should he believe – the words or the expression.

'Okay, so, nice meeting you!', he shoot desperately. 'Should I, uh-', he paused, wondering what sort of recompensation was in place in this kind of situation.

'I will go with you to the cafe', stated the guy ominously, crossing his arms on his chest.

Stiles decided to ignore the posture and be happy about buying the guy a breakfast and work out this awkwardness.

'Oh, sure, good, that's – yeah', he flashed a nervous smile and steered towards the door.

The man lifted an eyebrow at him. 'Keys?'.

For one second, Stiles stared at the guy, thinking he actually wanted to go to his apartment. In retaliation, or revenge, eye for an eye-

'Uh', he paused and only then it hit him. 'Right!'. He started rummaging his pockets.

He found the keys with a Batman pendant.

He gaped at it. Lifted his head.

'That's – yours?', he asked, astonished.

The guy shoot him a glare and took the keys to close the door.

Stiles wasn't the one to give up quickly. 'So, what's your name?'.

'Derek'.

'Oh, that's nice', said Stiles, watching him in wonder. He was seriously handsome.

'So, it's Batman in Batman vs Superman, right?'.

Shit, his imprint was really acting up today.

Derek turned to him surprised, just to turn quickly away. 'Yeah', he said.

Stiles grinned. He started talking more about the characters and by the time they reached the cafe, he was pretty sure he's made a friend.

 

2\. Derek – Semi-Public Space

It wasn't their last meeting. Stiles found an apartment nearby, because this street's so full of life, you know? There is always something happening here, he explained to Derek with a bright smile.

Derek hated that smile.

He hated Stiles' smell and how he kept talking to everyone.

But most of all, he was agitated. His soulmate imprint kept burning whenever Stiles was around (before soothing when they started meeting pretty much every day), he couldn't forget how their smells intertwined in his apartment that first day, and if Derek would let himself to just ignore it sometimes, he would have a great time talking with Stiles. Stiles, who had the same imprint as him.

So, his soulmate was a guy. But Derek wasn't gay.

Surprisingly, Stiles didn't seem to realize the soulmate thing. Once, Derek dared to ask him what he thought about those imprints, just to be informed that they suck and you cannot trust them.

He was relieved, but how long will that keep up?

Not long, it turned out.

'Your beers', said Isaac, putting the beverages before them when they were hanging out at the Jungle with Scott and Allison.

'Oh, thanks', said Stiles, reaching out to the alcohol with his sleeves rolled up. Jesus, those long fingers – Derek teared his eyes away just to see Isaac notice the imprint. He froze.

'Huh, funny thing', said Isaac, unaware of Derek's pleading eyes, 'Derek has a similar imprint. 'Wouldn't it be _queer_ if you two were soulmates and met thanks to me mixing up the keys?'.

 _Why, Isaac, that would be_ hilarious _._

'Sorry about that, by the way'.

Stiles laughed. 'Don't worry about it'.

Derek tried to smile, but what came out was a weird, painfully-looking grimace. Erica frowned at him from behind Isaac.

Stiles turned to Scott. 'How is it possible that we know each other 20 years, and you didn't realize the guy sleeping in your bed wasn't me?'.

'I'm just hospitable, I don't check everyone present in my flat'.

Stiles grinned and moved to Derek again. 'I still can't believe how patient you were with me waking up at your place. I must have messed up the smell'.

Derek shrugged. He didn't want Stiles to know just how confusing it all was for him, when the smell was so right, Stiles that attractive, but still a man, how it didn't make any sense-

'Oh, I don't think I have ever seen your soulmate imprint. Where is it?', said Stiles. Scott looked at them surprised. It was common to compare your marks, but Stiles never cared about it. Fortunately.

'It's-', he started, staring intently at his beer, 'hidden'.

Ten points for the answer, Derek. One mind-blowing truth.

Stiles chuckled. 'What does it mean?'.

'I'll show you later', he said quickly. 'Uh, you're not working at the Blue Moon cafe today, Allison?'.

'No, it's Mrs Jacobs' turn'.

'Oh man, I need to get your chocolate crossaint again tomorrow, they're pure bliss', sighed Stiles.

'Sure', interjected Erica. 'And then you could go meet Deaton to check if you're soulmates with Derek'.

Stiles looked at her. 'I'm not-', he started and frowned. Then opened his mouth, shut it down, turned to Derek.

'Are we-'.

'I'm not gay', blurted Derek out. He saw Erica raising an eyebrow and preparing to say something. There was a chance of her mentioning Lydia, and that would be, uh, disastrous. For his pride and dignity. If he still had any.

'But we could check', he added.

His life.

Later, Erics smiled at him confidently and whispered, 'You're welcome'. She thought he was just shy. Derek almost facepalmed.

 

3\. Stiles – Semi-Private Space

'You're soulmates', stated Deaton.

'No, we aren't', argued Derek.

Deaton looked at him, unimpressed.

'I-', Derek cleared his throat, 'this stuff isn't always clear, right? There are mistakes-'.

'Those are very rare if you come check soulmate imprints with a druid like me', said Deaton calmly.

'Well, there is always a chance-', he started again.

Stiles turned to him, disbelieving. 'Dude, if you don't want to be with me like that, just tell me', he said, frowning.

Derek stared at him wide-eyed, looked away, turned back to Stiles. 'I'm – sorry', he said softly.

Stiles shrugged. 'Not a problem. I've always knew this soulmate thing was shitty. And I can hook up with Danny tonight', he grinned at Derek.

 _If it would be that easy_ , Stiles thought to himself miserably a few weeks later, staring at his imprint. At least now it wasn't that painful, since he spend so much time with Derek. Seriously, this thing hurt when he met his archnemesis, Jackson, it hurt when he met his soulmate, Derek, and it won't do anything to help him be with Derek.

Because once the image of them together crossed his mind, he couldn't stop thinking about it.

He was in love.

Derek asked him why he stopped hooking up, and Stiles first froze before managing to answer that he just doesn't feel like it. It was true enough – Derek, despite his werewolf hearing, didn't catch the uptick in his heartbeat.

They were great friends, but it was always something different than what he had with Scott. It felt like he could share _anything_ with Derek and still be understood. He didn't want to lose that, but staying friends, pining, wasn't really an option either. He would blush at the sight of Derek's back when his shirt would ride up a bit, at his Adam's apple, at his stubble, his _voice_ , for fuck's sake.

Plus, the way Derek would behave towards him sometimes, when he smiled at Stiles' planning out the small park in the neighbourhood, when he was completely wasted (the stuff they have at the Jungle. Jesus. It would make drunk not anyone, but _anything_ ) and kept smelling Stiles' neck (the horrible boner), plus then he would catch Derek staring at his hands sometimes-

it just didn't make any sense.

'Hey, Allison', he greets, entering the Blue Moon cafe, 'how is the petition going?'.

'We are close', she says, showing him the list of signatures underneath the proposition of changing the public toilet noone uses anymore, into the small park he'd planned.

'That's great! Wow. Uh, right, can you give me my usual coffee to go?'.

'Sure'.

He goes out, looking around himself. The street is busy as always. He doesn't know most of the people, but it's just the charm of the city. He nods at Deaton, who is opening the door to his office, waves at Boyd, who's going inside the Jungle, probably to meet with Erica, observes the parents with children, bikers, roller skaters.

Well, even if he is to spend the rest of his life alone, because his soulmate doesn't want him – and just how sad is that?, at least he's got his friends, family and all those people around him.

 

4\. Derek – Public Space

Derek was gay. He kept thinking about Stiles, his beaming smile, his rushed, excited talk, his hands, his smell, his bedhair, his confident grin-

Derek wasn't gay. He went to the gay bar, looked around sipping his beer, just to miserably admit he can only think of Stiles that way.

Derek was fucked. He admitted it to himself after more than one month passed since their visit at Deaton's. 'You're so stupid sometimes', Laura shook her head before hugging him anyway. 'You just need to talk with him'.

'You're such an idiot, it's unbelievable', said Erica later that week, looking at him, amazed. By his intellect, possibly.

'What happened?', asked Isaac.

Erica turned to Derek, letting him handle the situation.

'I'm-', he stopped and frowned, wondering how to explain everything, 'in love with Stiles', he shrugged.

'Oh my God', said Isaac after a minute, staring at him. 'So you are soulmates and you did meet thanks to me!', he said, excited. Apparently, you don't need much to make a person happy.

'I've got to tell Scott-'.

'What? No!', objected Derek.

'But, why?', he asked, eyebrows drawn together. 'You're not together?'.

Derek kept quiet and half-shrugged again awkwardly.

'But, you are soulmates?'.

'Yeah', said Derek, still looking somewhere else.

'So what's the problem? You can at least say that you love him, right?'.

Derek stopped rubbing his imprint on his collar bone mindlessly and turned to Isaac, who was still watching him.

'Yeah', he said. Blinked. His mind was completely blank, or chaotic with all the thoughts-

He stood up. 'Yeah, I guess'.

He went out in a daze just to see Stiles standing in the nearby small park, built by now, watching people go by. Stiles noticed him and smiled, waving to come closer.

Those few steps, he kept thinking about Stiles, so open to everyone, how he gave Derek's Batman pendant another meaning, how he gave his _life_ new meaning-

'Stiles, I-', he starts, standing before him, catching his eyes, 'I love you. I said all that earlier because I- I thought I couldn't, because you were a guy, but it's- I-', he stammers, feeling his face heat up, 'I still want to be with you. I'm sorry'.

Stiles looks at him amazed and, after a beat, smiles radiantly.

'Yeah, I- me too', he says. They stare at each other in wonder.

Then Stiles steps closer and kisses him ever so gently.

They hear some cheering and clapping around and turn to see Isaac, Erica, Boyd, Lydia, Allison, Scott and what seems to be the rest of the city looking at them. Together with unfazed Deaton.

Derek blushes, realizing they are in everyone's view. Stiles just laughs.

'You know, I could stay here', says Stiles. 'I feel really good in this place'. Derek smiles at him and turns his back to their audience, kissing Stiles again. Their soulmate imprints glow faintly before turning normal again.

'Magic', sighs Stiles. 'Doesn't make any sense, yet still works somehow'.

'Just like everything', shrugs Derek.

Stiles looks up to him.

'But it's interesting this way, right?'.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you! Comments and kudos motivate me to do more, so I'd really appreciate them. Also, I tagged this fic as humor, and uh, can you tell me if I can? I feel so bad adding the tag without someone else's opinion.


End file.
